Wellington Regional Hospital will get a new $50 million children’s hospital thanks to Wellington property developer Mark Dunajtschik.

One of Wellington’s major benefactors – in the areas of education, health and sport – Mr Dunajtschik will pay for, build, and gift the new hospital to Capital & Coast District Health Board.

“This amazingly generous offer will have such a big impact on the children we look after, their families and our staff,” said board chair Andrew Blair.

The current children’s hospital is almost 30 years old and is no longer fit for purpose. It is a challenging environment to work and be in – the new hospital will enhance the experience for everyone.

“We’ve been working on a long-term plan for child health services, which included a new children’s hospital – but building wasn’t going to start for several years. Mr Dunajtschik’s generosity means we’ll get the hospital much sooner,” said chief executive Debbie Chin.

Existing child hospital and outpatient services – which are currently housed separately – will move to the new hospital.

Doctors and nurses are actively involved in designing the new hospital, which is expected to take around 18 months to build once plans are finalised and resource consent is granted.

“A building dictates how you can deliver care. Not only are we designing a new hospital, we also get the opportunity to design our future child health services. This is a fantastic opportunity for Wellington and the region and we are incredibly grateful to Mr Dunajtschik,” said chief medical officer John Tait.

“We’re also grateful to Wellington Hospitals Foundation chair Bill Day for planting the seed with Mr Dunajtschik and for his ongoing support for the project,” said board chair Andrew Blair.